Are these three young Aussie entrepreneurs about to make wearable tech go mainstream?
Announcement posted by The Creative Collective 07 Apr 2016
Wearable tech has long been the domain of early tech adopters but hasn’t always been accessible due to affordability for some. Now three young entrepreneurs from Adelaide, Australia are gearing up to launch a crowdfunding campaign to introduce the mainstream population to smart rings, at a lower price than any of their global predecessors.
Meet elppy - the smart ring which the trio say is both affordable and useful to the everyday user, and which has unlimited possibilities in use, with it’s built in swipe, control and bluetooth enabled hardware.
Co-founder Aaron Mohtar says he believes the elppy smart ring will be as useful to an active wear Mum who spends a good deal of her day running around after the kids but who always loves a go on the treadmill listening to her favourite music; as it will be to accomplished professional speakers who would love to wear a smart ring which will allow them to control their multimedia from stage, rather than than be at the mercy of a sound desk, or hold a clunky 1990s powerpoint clicker.
But the really exciting thing about this product is its affordability. A limited allocation of rings will be going for as low as $30USD when the crowdfunding campaign is launched in May, which Mohtar says will “make it accessible to the mainstream who may not have previously had access to wearable tech.”
“There are many practical applications for the elppy smart ring and we’ve only just begun to explore what these might be,” says Mohtar.
“What is really exciting is that because it uses bluetooth technology, it’s virtually compatible with any technology that you can pair with bluetooth, so we’re sure once people start using it, they will no doubt discover many more applications to use the ring, and it will become a must-have device that goes everywhere with them.
“Many people would love to own an Apple Watch but with a cost of from $600USD it is a little cost prohibitive for some. We hope our product will be a way more people can access wearable tech, and start to enjoy the benefits of it.”
Another great feature of the elppy smart ring is its long battery life. The founders are estimating it will last up to two years from normal daily use (1-2 hours per day of active use).
The product will be available on the crowdfunding campaign in three colours - black, blue and green and the founders are hoping to raise $75,000USD, but if they meet a stretch goal of $100,000USD, they will produce a larger colour range.
The crowdfunding campaign will launch in May. In the meantime, interested people can go to the website and enter to win an elppy device at www.elppy.com. You can watch a YouTube clip of the product here. Also follow their social accounts:
>ENDS<
Media interested in arranging an interview or photos should contact Yvette Adams on 0405 022 977 or Michelle Harris 0401 259 911 or pr@thecreativecollective.com.au.
EDITOR NOTES
BIO ON AARON MOHTAR - Co-founder and CEO
With a PHD in electronic engineering and over eight years of research work at Flinders University, Aaron Mohtar founded elppy to make a larger, more direct and practical difference to everyday people’s life.
Adelaide born, but completing his high school diploma in Lebanon, since completing his degree and then PHD, Aaron has worked a Senior Research Associate at Flinders University in Adelaide.
In this role he is directly involved in the research, development and evaluation of medical devices including anti-suffocation pillows, handheld cancer problems and post operative rehabilitation devices. He thrives on seeing the devices he has designed make it to the commercialization process and contributing to the medical industry.
Aaron has been recognised with awards, media coverage and other accolades for his work, including first prize at the 2014 Flinders University Enterprise Workshop gala for his team's outstanding entrepreneurial and business acumen, and being accepted into the Innovyz Commercialization Program for elppy (formerly known as swyper) which he co-founded with Belinda Wade and Greg Stevens.
See his Linkedin profile at: https://au.linkedin.com/in/aaronmohtar
BIO ON GREG STEVENS - Co-founder & R&D Manager
Greg Stevens has been building various innovative non-commercial products with his Grandpa since he was 10.
Today he is a product development engineer and businessman driven to develop profitable solutions. He loves working on innovative products and services, and is a strong believer of complete user-experience orientated design that is passionate about product, scalability, sustainability, aesthetics and form; business analysis, development and improvement and process generation and optimisation.
His career highlights include winning the 2014 Enterprise Workshop challenge and being accepted into the Innovyz Commercialization Program for elppy (formerly known as swyper) which he co-founded with Belinda Wade and Aaron Mohtar; developing a wireless mesh network to help paramedics within the festival industry for my first start-up WiFindUs and designing the tram stop benches for the North Terrace to Entertainment Centre tram extension upgrade project for Street & Park Furniture in Adelaide. He was awarded a University and Engineering Medal for his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and is currently interested in wearable devices, wireless devices, biomedical devices, asset management software, heating products and systems, entrepreneurship.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-stevens-4237b059
BIO ON BELINDA WADE - Co Founder and Marketing Manager
Like her co-founders at elppy.com, Belinda has shown entrepreneurial tendencies from a young age. At age 10 years old, her and a friend picked all her parents lemons, cut all her neighbours flowers, loaded everything into a wheelbarrow and took it to the local nursing home where they sold lemons and flowers to the old folks for a tidy profit.
Belinda Wade moved on from lemons and flowers, graduating with a Bachelor of Biotechnology and Molecular Biology at Flinders University and also has a Graduate Certificate of Management (Technology Management) from La Trobe University. Since graduating she has worked in variety of business development roles and has been the Business Development Manager of an analytical facility with state of the art mass spectrometry equipment providing services to research and industry at the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Flinders University in Adelaide for the past five years.
Apart from developing new products, Belinda has also been busy developing children. She is the mum of Sam 9 yearrs, Hudson 7 yearrs, and is currently 24 weeks pregnant.
She was thrilled to be accepted into the Innovyz Commercialization Program for elppy (formerly known as swyper) which she co-founded with Aaron Mohtar and Greg Stevens.
Read more: https://au.linkedin.com/in/belindawade
What is elppy?
elppy is a wearable device, worn on your finger and allows you to interact with your smart devices remotely in an easy and intuitive way. In a world where technology is woven into everyday life, we believe that the simple things should be kept simple.
elppy uses Bluetooth to connect to all smart devices easily and allows you to control commonly used functions without the need to install any apps or read pages of instruction manuals in order to use it. Simply "Connect, Swipe & Control".
What devices support elppy?
elppy can generally connect to any smart device (phone, tablet or computer) that supports Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) & keyboard functionality (HID). Devices that have already been tested to support elppy include:
iPhone 4s (and onwards) with iOS 5 (and later) - out of the box support for multimedia and camera functionality only
Samsung galaxy 4 (and onwards) with Android 4.3 (and later) - supports full functionality
Windows 8 - supports full functionality
How does the elppy ring work?
elppy works by simply pairing it to your smart device via Bluetooth and controlling functions using the touchpad that has been fashioned to be worn on the finger. You can control your music, take photos or even give presentation on your laptop all controlled remotely with elppy.
We have designed elppy to be plug n play technology so you don’t need an app in order for it to work, simple! The technology is simple enough that the battery will last the life of your device, no recharging!
How do I recharge elppy?
elppy is a low energy device that does not need a recharge! With normal daily use*, elppy lasts up to two years.
*Normal daily use is considered 1-2hr of active use of elppy.
What is elppy made of?
elppy's final version housing is made of polycarbonate and the band is made of a durable elastomer similar to that used in many sports watches.
What sizes are available?
elppy comes with an adjustable finger strap that accommodates fingers with range of diameters from 13 to 25 mm (circumference from 40.8 to 78.5mm). If this size range does not suit you, please contact us on support@elppy.com & we will endeavour to change the sizes based on customer demand.
What size is the main swipeable area?
The touchpad is 21x21mm2.
Is elppy water-proof? Can I wash my hands while I’m wearing it?
elppy is splash proof but not swim proof. elppy will tolerate mild mists and cooking condiments, but as with all wearable devices it’s best for your skin if elppy stays dry and clean.
Is my elppy protected under warranty?
Your elppy comes with a 1-year limited warranty. Your warranty cannot be assigned or transferred to any subsequent purchaser or user. Our warranty policy warrants our products against defects in materials and workmanship under normal use.